Man Utd v Wolves – Preview, Predictions and Best Bets

Man Utd host Wolves at Old Trafford on Tuesday night in the English Premier League. The hosts are in excellent form and sit just five points off the summit with a game in hand. Wolves have been on a difficult run but were very impressive against Tottenham and deserved their late equaliser. Who will come out on top?

Man Utd Form

In the league, Man Utd are on a very good run. They are eight matches unbeaten with six wins during that time. Even the 2-2 draw against Leicester last time out kept them just five points off Liverpool with one less match played.

13 teams have a better defensive record than Ole Gunnar Soskjaer’s team but they are scoring freely and regularly overturning deficits to take three points. They beat Everton, West Ham, and Sheffield United after trailing and thrashed Leeds 6-2.

United led twice against Leicester after goals by Marcus Rashford and Bruno Fernandes but conceded a late equaliser to Jamie Vardy.

Man Utd Team News

In defence, Man Utd could be missing Aaron Wan-Bissaka at right-back once again whilst Victor Lindelof continues to have back problems and may even need surgery. That may mean starts for Eric Bailly at centre back and Axel Tuanzebe at fullback. Alex Telles should also get a start at left-back for his fresh legs.

Paul Pogba and Nemanja Matic could both come in to freshen up the midfield whilst Edinson Cavani assisted off the bench in the last match and will surely start here.

Man Utd Motivation

United will play to win at home. Their record at Old Trafford is pretty poor this season having lost three of their first four home matches. They have since improved with wins against West Brom and Leeds and a 0-0 draw against Man City.

They will attack Wolves but also be wary of their opposition’s new-found attacking freedom and may need to sit back at times and use their pace on the break. A draw would be seen as a poor result and extra attackers will be thrown on if the scores are level after 70 minutes.

Wolves Form

After beating Arsenal at the Emirates in a fine performance, Wolves had a tough run of form. They lost 4-0 at Liverpool and were beaten 1-0 at home by Aston Villa. They then produced a superb comeback to beat Chelsea 2-1 before losing 2-1 away to Burnley.

The story of their season has been inconsistency with six wins, six losses, and three draws in 15 matches. Last time out, they fell behind in the first minute to Tottenham but dominated the rest of the match and deservedly equalised late on through Romain Saiss.

Wolves Team News

Nuno Espirito Santo continues to make do without his top striker, Raul Jimenez. Fabio Silva works hard and has big potential upfront but lacks the killer instinct of the injured Mexican at this stage of his development.

Wolves are also likely to be without Willy Boly at centre back and Leander Dendoncker in midfield for this match though both are nearing a return. Jonny Castro is also getting closer at left wingback after a long-term injury too.

For Wolves, the choice is whether to use a back three or a back four. The latter has allowed an extra spot for an attacking player and the team looks much more enterprising of late. Wolves have a small squad and don’t have the depth to rotate heavily during this busy period.

Wolves Motivation

Away from home, considering the turnaround time and lack of options to change the team, Wolves would certainly be delighted to take a draw. If they start with a back three and one less attackers, then their intentions will be clear. However, if it’s a 4-2-3-1 shape then they may have designs on attacking a fragile Man Utd backline and trying to win the match.

Key Stats

Man Utd have won 6 of their last 8 PL matches (D2)

Man Utd have scored 2 or more goals in 7 of their last 9 matches

Man Utd have conceded 15 goals in their last 8 matches

Wolves have lost 3 of their last 5 PL matches

Wolves have seen over 2.5 goals in their last 3 away PL matches

Prediction

Man Utd should be much fresher with the quality of Paul Pogba and Edinson Cavani likely to come into the side and they should win this match. United also had an extra rest day over Wolves.